My Dear Birdie
by Elillierose
Summary: No matter who Dick Grayson is or what he calls himself, he will always hold a special spot in Joker's eyes. He will always be Joker's little bird. Rated for language and later blood and extreme violence. NO YAOI NO PAIRINGS
1. Prologue

Little bird is breaking down

Breaking down

Breaking down

Little bird is breaking down

My dear birdie

Clip your wings with my crowbar

My crowbar

My crowbar

Clip your wings with my crowbar

My dear birdie

Carve my name with this here knife

This here knife

This here knife

Carve my name with this here knife

My dear birdie

Where oh where is your Batman

Your Batman

Your Batman

Where oh where is your Batman

My dear birdie

Let's drug you with my venom

My venom

My venom

Let's drug you with my venom

My dear birdie

Little bird is breaking down

Breaking down

Breaking down

Little bird is breaking down

My dear birdie


	2. Chapter 1: Slipped Through Our Fingers

**Two days earlier:**

His maniacal laugh could be heard echoing throughout the streets and allies. It was difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the source, but it was close and moving as well. I kept a close eye on Robin because I knew what this creep was capable of from experience. He could snatch someone right next to you without you noticing until you heard the agonized filled scream weave through your ears and etch itself into your mind.

"Where oh where is my little birdieee?"

It was coming from behind me. I turned around. Nothing.

Haha ha haaa!"

Now in from of me. I looked, but still nothing but a confused Robin. He knew exactly where we were, and he was just toying with us. Trying to push us into a frantic state of mind. There was no way I was going to let that happen. When I myself was Robin, I was naïve and rash. But, as Nightwing, I am more experienced, more careful and calm. I can protect others better than I once could. And I will be damned if I let anything happen to Tim. The boy who is practically my younger brother. I would protect him, even at the cost of my own life if that's what it took.

"Joker, why don't you stop hiding like a coward and show yourself already?" I yelled as loud as my voice would allow. All I could hear was the echo of my anger in return, until…

"I'm right next to you my dear birdie."

I spun around, facing where Tim was, only now he wasn't. Instead I was face to face with a man that had a serious clown complex. The only thing I could think of though was Tim. Where was he? "Where is he?"

"Heehee, where id who?" He was now smiling larger, if that was even possible.

"You know damn well who I'm talking about. Where is Robin?"

His face twisted into a mediocre concerned expression. "My, my, I believe my bird has finally lost it. My dear birdie, I'm looking at Robin right now." What was he talking about? He was looking straight into my eyes. Looking at me. His hand drifted towards his pocket. He was retrieving something. It was… a mirror? He slowly brought it up to eye level, facing me. I gazed into it and froze immediately. What was this? It was me in the mirror, but the wrong me. It was Robin me. "Don't you see? You are my only little bird."

"Robin?" I called looking all over for Tim, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here brother." I turned to face Joker again. Wait, where did he go? "Look behind you." I turned cautiously; terror rushing through my body. There he was. "Robin, where were y-" I choked on the last word, not sure if what my eyes told me was true. I felt tears begin to surface. I was definitely Robin, but I didn't want to believe it. His mouth. His mouth was slit at both corners just as the Joker's were.

"Ri-Richard, h-help me." I didn't know what to do. I embraced him, holding him close.

"Where were you? What happened to you?"

"What do you mean? What happened to you?"

"Nothing happe-" My words were cut short as an explosion of pain shot through my back. A knife? Who? Tim began shaking in my arms. Was he cold? Or scared? No, he was… laughing? "Tim? What are you doing? Why?"

"Heh heh heh, isn't it obvious? I'm breaking you down."

I bolted upright, sweat dripping from my face as I took unsteady breaths. There was a light throbbing bouncing off the interiors of my skull. A gentle hand fell upon my shoulder, pushing until I was back in a lying position. I looked to my left to whoever it was. I saw Tim staring down at me. I don't know what happened; it was as though my instincts took over. I grabbed his wrist and twisted, causing him to drop to his knees. He let out a gasp, but nothing more until I released my grip. "Sorry, reflexes, you know?" I shrugged. It was all a dream. None of that was real.

"Yeah, sure." He said standing back up and rubbing his wrist. "Anyway, I would suggest staying down, unless you want to black out again." Again? I wasn't aware that there had been a first time.

"Robin, what are you talking about?"

"You don't remember?"

"If I remembered would I be asking about it?"

He looked as though he were deciding on how he wanted to word things. "You have a point." It was then that I noticed where we were. We were outside. But, not just outside, we were in an alley in Gotham. "Well, you see, Joker kind of… escaped again." Then everything came back to be all at once, or most of everything anyway. Of course, we were after Joker. Wait, what?!

I jumped to my feet, startled. "You mean to tell me that he got away?!" My head was spinning and my legs were shaking.

"Whoa, what are you doing? I just said you shouldn't get up. You might have a concussion." He grabbed my arm to prevent me from going anywhere.

"Let go! I can't just lie around knowing he is out there somewhere. I have to find him."

Tim only tightened his grasp on me. "You can't go."

"And why is that?"

He bowed his head directing his gaze up at me looking rather guilty. "Um, because I may have already contacted Batman."

"You did what?! Why would you do that? Do you know how furious he's going to be at this failure of a patrol?"

He averted his eyes from me, which looked so pitiful. "You were knocked out in the middle of the street and there is a madman on the loose. What was I supposed to do.?"

Of course, I wasn't angry with him, I was mainly angry with myself. I shouldn't have been taken out so easily. "Look, Tim, it's okay, it wasn't your fault. It was mine. I made a mistake and left you alone to fix it. You panicked and that is understandable. How long has it been since you've spoken with him?"

"Um… about five minutes, why?" He released my arm and looked back up at me, waiting for an answer.

"Okay, and how long was I out for?"

"About thirty minutes, but why do you want to know?" I loved the anticipation in his voice, as if I was about to reveal all the secrets of the world.

"Hmm, interesting." He was staring at me harder now. "Maybe, no, that can't be it." He seemed to be growing impatient now. It took everything I had to keep from laughing at his curiosity. "I wonder if, no, that can't be it either." I felt like his eyes were now burning through my soul.

"Come on! What are you talking about?" I couldn't do it anymore. I could no longer contain my amusement.

"Absolutely nothing." I said patting him on the back twice. "I just like messing with you. And the look on your face was well worth it.

"Not cool," he said lightly punching the arm he was clinging to earlier. "I thought something serious was going on."

"Sorry, but I couldn't resist the opportunity. Now, Batman should be here soon." My head was still throbbing, but it had at least lightened up some. Hopefully I would still be able to walk straight; I haven't even tried taking a step yet. I've actually been holding that off until Bruce got here. I didn't want to pass out on Tim and leave him alone again. Just standing there as long as I did was beginning to cause me to become light-headed. I lowered myself into a sitting position and placed my head in my right palm.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a headache, don't worry about it." A few seconds passed before I felt a single drop of rain fall upon my forehead. The beginning of a long rain-filled night. "Great, of course it has to start raining, why not?"

Bruce's timing could not have been more perfect. The batmobile skidded to a stop right outside the alley we were in and rain had just started its descent towards us, dampening our hair and rolling down our faces. Bruce walked briskly towards us. I rose back to my feet as he approached, wavering slightly as I did so. I placed my hand against a building to steady myself. "Take it easy." Bruce placed a supporting hand on my shoulder. "Robin, get in the car and out of the rain." He waited until we heard the car door close. "You're no hurt, are you?"

I lightly shook my head and even that blurred my vision causing me to close my eyes, so my answer was not too convincing at that point. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine. Can you even walk on your own without falling?" I didn't answer. "I didn't think so. Come on so we can get you checked out."

"How can we go back when the Joker is out there somewhere. We have to find him." I took a couple steps forward, stumbling over my own feet as I did so.

Bruce quickly wrapped one of his arms around me, supporting me and preventing me from falling flat on my face. "You're not going anywhere like this. You are coming back to the cave and getting looked at by Alfred. End of story."

When Batman said 'end of story' you should know better than to push the issue further. At this point it's better to just nod and agree. "Understood." I allowed him to assist me in getting into the vehicle, mainly because my vision was blurring again and I would have most likely ended up hitting my head on the top of the car resulting in another state of uselessness. I was definitely going to be sore in the morning, I could already feel my muscles stiffening up and threatening to tighten into a knot of a cramp. Great, this perfect situation just keeps escalating into the world of perfection.

"Tell me, what the hell happened out there?"

_Crap! _Why did he have to ask now? I don't exactly remember; my memory was nothing but fuzz and static. Hmm, what did happen? "Well, you see-?"

"You don't know, do you?"

I didn't know how to answer that. 'Sorry, I got my ass handed to me and forgot everything.' Yeah, that would go well. "Sorry, but I can only remember up to a certain point, then the rest is nothing more than a mere haze. Tim? Do you recall everything?"

"Down to the last detail." Thank you Tim for you abnormal memory capacity. "I'll start from the beginning."


	3. Chapter 2: Flashback

The clouds were dark in the sky, darker than usual, which was saying a lot. I took my typical spot on the roof top with Nightwing diagonally behind me to my left. Neither of us was speaking; we were only staring out over Gotham. I remember the two of us were patrolling because Batman was busy elsewhere. Which of course left Bludhaven unattended and unsupervised, and I couldn't help but wonder what sort of condition it was in at that moment, or what the morning would bring. I could only imagine the thoughts running through Nightwing's mind as the city was _his_ responsibility after all.

My trailing thoughts were interrupted by the swift movement of a shadow traveling in the streets beneath us. It was incredibly fast, too fast to be human, let alone the Joker. Perhaps it was a cat or a stray dog. Whatever it was I let it escape my concern for there were more important matters to focus on. We had to find that psychopath that had once again out-smarted the security at Arkham. If IO were to set up security then we wouldn't have this problem every other day.

I could fell Nightwing shift his position next to me, and immediately the atmosphere of our environment turned into a denser and unsettling one. I could almost feel the presence of another lingering in the shadows around us, but I did not see anyone or anything. Somehow, though, I still knew he was there, watching us, waiting to make his move.

Nightwing placed his hand on my shoulder, "Stay alert." He said it only loud enough for me to barely hear it. I nodded and kept my gaze locked on the streets below me. For quite some time all that could be heard were sirens of police cars and the moaning of the cool breeze, you know, the normal sounds of Gotham. The part that worried me was when the eerie sounds and busy streets grew unnaturally silent. Something was off, but I couldn't quite figure out exactly what it was. The air felt colder and thicker as it warped and twisted, encasing us in a cluster of suffocation.

Before I could speak or react, Dick had grabbed my arm, pulling me away and out of Joker's special gas. I should have seen that coming. "Be careful." He released his hold on me before pulling out his eskima sticks and cutting his eyes at the building next to us. The Joker must have been over there, keeping his distance. Smart move on his part, but still not good enough. Though I had to keep in mind, he was still unpredictable, and most likely had a reason for his carelessness, but what was the reason? What kind of an advantage could he possibly be gaining by doing this? All sorts of scenarios began racing through my head and not a one sounded very pleasant in my opinion. I fact, I hoped that they were all wrong, but we were never that lucky.

"Well, well, if it isn't two of my favorite people in the world." The Joker casually stepped out of the shadows and into plain sight. "But I must ask where the old bat is? Our game would be much more intriguing if he were here as well. I suppose you two will have to do though. What should we play first? How about badminton; I'm awfully good at hitting the birdie." My body tensed at the sadistic enjoyment that was clear in his voice.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we're not interested." Nightwing stepped in front of me, as if protecting me. I instinctively retrieved two of my bird-a-rangs and held them, ready to throw them at any moment if need be. The temptation to set them free immediately was almost overpowering, but I found the strength to hold back and keep my composure intact.

"Feeling a little compulsive are we? All I want to do is have a decent conversation for once, or perhaps even come to equal terms. That's all I want, but you guys never want to cooperate. All I do is 'borrow' some things, maim a few, and maybe kill a couple if I'm in a bad mood, and all of you act as though I am such a horrible person." He picked up his crowbar which was lying next to his feet. "Now ,how about we discuss our little game." His voice broke off into a fit of laughter. As his cackling grew louder he lunged off the rooftop towards us with his crowbar raised high above his head.

The clanging of metal against metal could be heard echoing off the buildings around us. Nightwing was blocking with one of his eskima sticks while the crowbar was mere inches from his face. I could faintly see his arm trembling from the strain of holding him back. The jagged edge of the crowbar was creeping closer and closer to my mentor, threatening to make contact any second. I had to do something to help. Then I remembered that I was holding two lethal weapons in my hand already. Without hesitation I thrust one towards the enemy, which was aimed perfectly at his chest.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion from that point. The Joker saw the projectile coming towards him, and prepared for it. In that split moment he grabbed Nightwing's shoulder, catching him off guard, and pulled him closer. I saw what he was doing. There was no way he could evade the attack himself, so he was going to take what little advantage he could of the situation. Since he couldn't avoid it he was going to take another down with him.

The next thing I remember is a minor explosion and smoke flooding my vision. I couldn't see any hint of the other two, until I saw a figure approaching from the grey cloud. I got ready to throw my other bird-a-rang until I could make out who it was. "You really have to be careful with those things." He wheezed out the words as he stopped, standing in front of me with a layer of dust covering him. There was a trickle of blood trailing down the side of his face. "Are you alright Tim?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But, what about you? And what of Joker?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll live, and, as for Joker, I don't know where he is. We have to find…" His voice trailed off and he began to mumble to the point that I couldn't understand. This must have been the effects of being at such close range to the explosion. "We have to get down from here and search the streets for him before we lose track of him completely."

"I don't think that's a very good idea. You look like you need to sit down for a moment."

"We don't have time for that." Before I could protest he was jumping off the ledge of the building, gracefully swinging down to the depths of the city. I swiftly followed order, struggling to keep up with his surprising speed. Corner after corner we turned, coming across no trace of the man; almost like he was never there in the first place. We were practically chasing shadows in the moonless and unlit night. Basically, it was pointless. Still, you must admire his determination and will power. As I was lost in thought I didn't notice Nightwing's acceleration begin to plummet until I ended up passing him. By the time I realized he was behind me he was on his knees and massaging his temples. His eyes were closed tight, most likely trying to block out the painful ringing that follows explosions.

I stood there for a little while, trying to give him some time to recover, but it was taking too long. Uneasy thoughts began to swarm my logical thinking. Something was clearly wrong. The thought that he might have a concussion was the worst though. If that was the case then there wasn't much I could do other than try and keep him awake. I crouched at his side, "Can you hear me?"

He nodded, "Yeah, but can you lower your voice please? It's a bit overpowering."

"Okay." I said much more softly, almost inaudible, "Look, I need you to stay awake."

"Tim, there is no need to state the obvious. I understand the situation perfectly fine. If I lose consciousness then there's no telling when I'll wake up. But, I'll tell you, the risk sounds almost worth it right now. I can hardly see a few feet in front of me." His words were slurred together and his voice was weak. It was obvious that speaking was becoming more difficult for him to manage. Very slowly his breathing began to waver, slowing down rapidly to a startling pace. He was still there, but he couldn't hold on much longer and his clarity was slipping out of his grasp.

"Hey, come on, stay with me. Keep your eyes open." It was of no use. I don't even think he could hear me anymore for he had no reaction to the sound of my voice. The flow of my blood through my veins ceased as his hands dropped to his sides and he collapsed onto the hard surface of the ground. A lifetime passed before I could fully comprehend what had just happened. I tried reaching Bruce immediately, but had no luck; all I got was static. I desperately kept trying until I heard the familiar sound of the bat.

"And you know the rest from there."

All was silent until Dick spoke up, "So, what you're saying is, it's all your fault."

"No! Well, kind of, but it was an accident, reflex, if you will. It is like my defense mechanism and it cannot be helped."

"Yeah, it's your fault. It wasn't on purpose, but your fault nonetheless."

"You are both at fault. You, Dick, for being so reckless. And you, Tim, for being so careless. You both made simple mistakes and they are inexcusable." This was it, I was prepared for the incoming fury. "Despite it all, it was acceptable." What?! "No one is dead at least and there is no catastrophic damage to the city." I believe the two of us were in shock after what had just been said. "Richard, I would appreciate it if you stayed tonight at the manor after Alfred looks at you. I don't want you going home like that, it's too dangerous."

There was no argument, which was very unusual. Even from the back seat I could tell that his breathing was still slightly off, like he was fighting to stay awake. "You okay up there?"

"Mmhm, just a little tired is all, and sore. Nothing major." The rest of the time we rode in silence. Not a word was spoken as we were left to our thoughts.


End file.
